Ten People Daud Kisses for the First Time
by SilverCookieDust
Summary: Ten kisses, ten drabbles, 1,000 words.
**The Outsider**

Years later, Billie would ask him what the Outsider smelt like and Daud wouldn't answer because he didn't know. He never paid attention to the smell. He paid attention to how the Outsider's mouth felt rough against his own and yet still drew him in. He paid attention to the taste of seawater and the fact that it didn't make him gag. He paid attention to the coolness of the Outsider's skin, like chilled water, that he could feel even through their clothes. And he paid attention to how kissing him felt like Daud was drowning—and he didn't care.

 **Teague Martin**

The young woman's father was rich, paranoid, and overprotective, so Daud could only get to her on the road. It should've been easy, even with the contingency of mercenaries hired to protect the carriage, and Daud would be forever furious at failing, and at the young man that stopped him. Daud never knew his name until years later when he became an Overseer, but that grin after the man kissed him would stay with Daud forever, as would the memory of that mouth on his, stealing away his breath and his attention just long enough for the carriage to escape.

 **Billie Lurk**

It happened only once, when Billie was still young and Daud still had some warmth in his heart. Afterwards, he would harden and make sure the whalers only ever saw him as harsh master, would make sure Billie was the last one who had the nerve to grab him by his coat and crush their mouths together, catching him by surprise not only in action but in enthusiasm. He'd never admit that it wasn't terrible, and maybe if she was older and he wasn't her teacher... but that's not how things were and it's not how they would ever be.

 **Delilah Copperspoon**

The guards were stupid and Daud was grateful. It meant they barely glanced at him when they saw him kissing the young woman in the half-face mask. When they moved on, he drew back with an apology, but she still slapped him.

"What a mouth you have!" the young woman scorned, more offended by his forwardness than impressed by his skills. But it gave him that moment he needed to make his escape and it would be a long time before he learnt her identity, recognising that same voice as Delilah revealed herself in the wake of Billie's betrayal.

 **Jessamine Kaldwin**

A decade later, he would realise the irony of refusing to kill the empress when she caught him over the dead and bloody body of one of her advisors. Back then, the idea of sliding a blade into Jessamine Kaldwin's chest was horrifying. As far as empresses went, Daud liked Jessamine and while he had no qualms about murdering witnesses to his crimes, he would not kill this one. But he couldn't let her scream for the guards, either, and he had no sleep darts, so he did the only thing he could think of and kissed her into silence.

 **Lord Shaw**

Lord Shaw was ridiculously rich, ridiculously powerful, and ridiculously handsome. To someone other than Daud, those qualities might be attractive—indeed, to several hopeful young men they must be, because not for the first time Daud was asked to dispose of Shaw's latest conquest after yet another blackmail attempt. Once money and details had been handed over, Shaw looked Daud over as they shook hands, then jerked him close and kissed him. When Daud pulled away, Shaw hummed appreciatively. "Maybe I should take an older lover next time," he said, and laughed when Daud's only response was to turn away.

 **Abigail Ames**

Daud had been kissed by grateful women before. He'd even been kissed by grateful women in bloody clothes before. But normally that blood was their husband's or lover's or father's. It'd never been whale blood, which is what was splashed across Abigail Ames clothes. Daud was a bit surprised by this kiss, received when he straightened up from hauling the unconscious Rothwild over his shoulder, because he refused Abigail's request to blow up the slaughterhouse. But Abigail just smiled at him, thanked him for saving her life, and hurried away. He suspected the slaughterhouse would go up in flames anyway.

 **Lizzy Stride**

Daud could have taken the boat and left Lizzy for dead, but with the way things were going it wouldn't hurt to have a smuggler owe him a favour, so he ordered the whalers to take her below deck to rest up while he captained the boat. She woke when they reached Brigmore, coming up to the pilothouse as Daud brought them to shore. They exchanged a few words and she give her promise of a favour with a kiss, biting his lips and her own to seal it in blood. He considered himself lucky she hadn't pierced straight through.

 **Corvo Attano**

Daud never forgot his roots. In Dunwall, he couldn't, not when his skin marked him an outsider to the pale Gristolians. He never made any efforts to pretend he was a native because he would never be accepted as one, even if he weren't an assassin, and he never forgot the traditions of his home.

So Corvo not killing him was a surprise, but getting pulled up from his knees to receive the kiss of peace wasn't. It wasn't uncommon in Serkonos and Daud only thought that he didn't deserve it, even as he kissed back to show his gratitude.

 **Thomas**

He wasn't surprised when Thomas found him. Thomas would follow Daud into hell, so Serkonos was nothing, even if Daud wished the man would leave well enough alone. But he was relaxing for the first time in years—decades—so he just sighed, staying silent as Thomas knelt by his chair.

"You left us."

Daud said nothing, but Thomas wouldn't be deterred by silence and time had made him brave. He kissed Daud firmly, hungrily, and didn't let go of Daud's face after.

"You can't get rid of me that easily."

To his surprise, Daud found he didn't want to.


End file.
